flour + water

Hours

About

Opening the doors in 2009 in the heart of the mission district in San Francisco, flour + water continues to showcase a menu influenced by regional traditions throughout Italy with Northern Californian inspirations led by Executive Chef Thomas McNaughton.

Thomas McNaughton

Executive Chef

Evan Allumbaugh

Chef de Cuisine

Kate Michels

Director of Sales and Marketing

Ellie

Mascot

NTRG PARTNERS

Thomas McNaughton, Chef and Partner

Thomas has a long career in the culinary industry; he graduated from the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park and gained valuable experience working for premier bay area restaurants La Folie, Gary Danko and Quince in addition to stints at Michelin-rated restaurants in France, Germany and Italy. The deepest connection for Thomas comes from the hands of farmers, artisanal producers and small productions within the neighborhood.

Just prior to beginning work on the opening of flour + water, Tom spent a good deal of time in a Bologna pasta factory honing his chops with all the hand rolled varieties under the watchful eyes of “committed artisans”.

David White, Managing Partner

David White, hailing from Co. Laoise, Ireland has been banging around restaurants since he was 19. He began as a dishwasher at the Hilton hotel in Cannes while on a summer break from university. After he graduated he started waiting tables as a way to travel. “I’m not sure I if I ended up in this business by accident or destiny,” says White, “almost 20 years later it is in my blood, it’s that simple”

After landing in San Francisco in 1997 he worked in a variety of capacities in a host of well respected restaurants including Postrio, Plouf, Scalas, Eos, Momo’s Chez Papa, and Quince. These experiences culminated in Nua Restaurant and Wine Bar, which he co-designed, built and ran.

Food and wine are inseparable for David and something he views as intertwined cultures that grew up hand in hand. “I love the unending surprise that wine offers; it’s a never-ending journey. The more you learn, the more you realise you do not yet know. I love encountering a new wine for the first time”

Influences and interests are many, and range from photography and far-flung travel to snowboarding, sailing and his nationality: “What it is to be truly Irish is not something that is easy to explain to someone who is not.”

If a committed Irishman in San Francisco opening a restaurant that features artisanal pasta, pizza and cured meats seems odd at first glance, know this: the potato and the tomato are both part of the Nightshade family.

David Steele, Managing Partner

David Steele merges the heart of a food entrepreneur with the brain of a born businessman. Eight years of restaurant experience—working both the back and front of the house—segued into 18 more working in finance, most recently as a Managing Director of a wealth management firm.

This combination of skills, inclinations and a Masters Degree in English Literature is mirrored in an aesthetic that prizes the modern and industrial as well as the somewhat under the radar school of “Steampunk.”

Being a New Jersey native, Steele knows pizza, but is emphatic about one thing, “flour + water is not a pizzeria,” he says. “It’s a restaurant that prizes the basics and prepares Italian food with conviction, authenticity and passion and then serves it at great value to our customers. It’s all about simplicity.”

An avid cyclist and student of yoga, David wouldn’t be without his Converse All Stars, an iPod play list heavy on Modest Mouse, Built to Spill, Pavement, and Radiohead, along with (you guessed it), a steady supply of pizza, pasta and good wine (heavy on the Brunellos and Rhones).

We at flour + water feel extremely fortunate and privileged to be a part of such an incredible community.

(Santa Cruz, CA)
The farm is split between two of the best growing areas of the Bay Area — Santa Cruz’s banana belt, where the weather is relatively hot and dry in the summer and La Selva Beach where there is a stronger coastal influence.

(Guinda, CA)
Full Belly Farm has used organic practices since 1985 and is certified by California Certified Organic Farmers. The farm produces an amazing diversity of vegetables, herbs, nuts, flowers, and fruits year-round.

Hoffman Gamebirds

(Manteca, CA)
Ruth and Bud Hoffman and their son, Joe, began raising game birds (pheasants and partridges) for the State of California Department of Fish and Game in 1979.

(San Francisco, CA) Monterey Fish is based in San Francisco, California. While we are small enough to provide individual personalized service our sales volume is great enough to allow us to buy in volume directly from local boats and producers nationwide, enabling us to sell the best quality seafood at fair prices.

Located in the city’s historic Mission District, Bi-Rite Market has become San Francisco’s premier neighborhood market. We have been family owned and operated since 1964, in a location that has been serving the neighborhood since 1940.

Kitchen, Restaurant + Bar Specialists was founded to meet the growing demand for foodservice professionals skilled in generating high efficiency designs along with comprehensive food and beverage consulting.

The mis­sion of La Cocina is to cul­ti­vate low-income food entre­pre­neurs as they for­mal­ize and grow their busi­nesses by pro­vid­ing afford­able com­mer­cial kitchen space, industry-specific tech­ni­cal assis­tance and access to mar­ket oppor­tu­ni­ties.

“We strive to produce wines that crystallize our passion within each bottle. Because of our relationships with meticulous and respected grape growers, we have been able to produce wines of distinction and character that represent the best of what Northern California vineyards have to offer. We are proud of Skylark and hope to continue share these wines with family and friends, old and new.”

Linden Street Brewery is focused on bringing a lost tradition back to Oakland in a way that honors beer styles native to the West Coast and contributes to the revitalization of this beautiful city and it’s people.

Originally started as the brain-child of two of Cherry Voodoo’s founding partners, Cherry Voodoo Brewing’s mission is to bring an amazing craft beer line-up to the national and international beer markets.

Our artisanal ales are brewed in collaboration with select Northern California sustainable farms. Each barrel-aged limited release is a unique beer to be enjoyed with friends and savored around the seasonal table.

SF Biz Times did a piece, in which they included flour + water, on places that usually have limited reservations, but are more available during the week when Burning Man is taking place and SF residents have flocked the city.

San Francisco's Best Pizzas - This noisy new restaurant has everyone trekking to an otherwise abandoned corner of the Mission, for dough peppered with flavor from the fire, dressed with whip-fresh tomato sauce and worthy of worship.

GQ’s food critic Alan Richman writes: “Flour + Water is sneakily sophisticated, with remarkable ingredients and stunning layers of flavor that don’t stray from easy-to-eat… Everybody loves informal Italian dining. Flour + Water might be as good as it gets.”

Cookbook

Creating a book that covers the spectrum of pasta production and menu creation circling around seasonality and the deep-rooted Italian traditions was important to Chef Thomas McNaughton. Readers can jump through the year, season-by-season experimenting with different shapes and ingredients.

With over 50 unique recipes that cover all aspects of pasta, extensive how-to photography and insights and wisdom from people who practice the art of pasta creation every day, we think this book will appeal to professionals and ambitious home cooks alike!

The book is available for purchase at all Ne Timeas Restaurant Group restaurants (central kitchen, salumeria & flour + water). Be sure to pop in and pick a copy! Additionally, books can be purchased at all of these fine online booksellers:

The Test Kitchen serves as a culinary hub of information where our cooks are encouraged to learn and create. It is also where Executive Chef Thomas McNaughton tests his recipes for our upcoming flour + water cookbook. At night, the space turns into an intimate and cozy private dining room.

The Upstairs above central kitchen is an industrial chic space for culinary adventures, knowledge exchange, private dining experiences as well as cocktail-style events for up to 45 guests. With large windows overlooking 20th street, the space is transformative in nature, with the availability for the space to take on many different forms and seating arrangements.

By day, inspired by flour + water, salumeria is the neighborhood deli and larder specializing in handcrafted, artisan sandwiches and house-made charcuterie. By night, it turns into an intimate dining space for parties of 8-14 people, focused on bringing family and friends together over a traditional Italian-style meal.

Upcoming Events

20th street block party returns for the 3rd year! - Sept 12

On Saturday, September 12, in collaboration with Noisepop, Ne Timeas Restaurant Group will be taking over 20th Street between Harrison and Bryant from noon-6pm for a festival of food and music. The event is free to the public, and will feature performances by musical acts, as well as the Mission’s finest food and drinks, including some very special offerings from salumeria, central kitchen, and flour + water!

Salumeria will be setting up shop in central kitchen’s entrance and hosting a good ol’ fashioned barbecue, grilling house-made sausages and pouring cold ones all afternoon from noon-4pm.

From noon-6pm, Chef Mark Bolton will be manning central kitchen‘s very own booth, serving up delicious savory bites.

flour + water will be serving up treats in their street-side booth.

Throughout the day, each restaurant will also do a presentation in the Ne Timeas demo tent! From 12pm -5PM.

Stay tuned for details!

flour + water at Eat Drink SF - August 21, 2015

Join flour + water for opening night of Eat Drink SF on August 21, 2015 as Chef Thomas McNaughton presents dishes from flour + water & central kitchen and our newest sister restaurant, Aatxe will be celebrating the festivities and excitement of the launch of the 2015 festival.